Narcissism Is Alive and Well in America

Is narcissism in America an epidemic?

THE BASICS

Do you know the story of Narcissus? The very handsome fellow in Greek mythology who, because of his indifference and disdain toward others, was punished by the gods by falling in love with his own image. He was so enrapted by his beauty that he was unable to pull himself away from his own reflection that he wasted away and died.

Well, according to recent research, Narcissus has spawned many offspring in our current generation and narcissism is alive and well and living in America. Just so we are all on the same wavelength, narcissism is a personality characteristic associated with self-absorption, egocentrism, an overestimation of one's own importance and abilities, a sense of entitlement, and a disregard for others.

One study found that 30 percent of young people were classified as narcissistic according to a widely used psychological test. That number has doubled in the last 30 years. Another study reported a 40 percent decline among young people in empathy, a personality attribute inversely related to narcissism, since the 1980s.

These findings aren't surprising to anyone who pays attention to the "it's all about me" culture in which we currently live. My questions are where this rise in narcissism is coming from and what impact it will have on our society in the future.

One obvious place where young people are learning about narcissism is our omnipresent and unrelenting popular culture. A study by the celebrity psychiatrist Dr. Drew, in which 200 "celebrities" (I put the word in quotes because the threshold for being considered a celebrity these days has declined significantly) completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, found that, here's a shocker, they were significantly more narcissistic than the general population. Interestingly, the celebrities who actually had a talent, for example, musicians, tended to be less narcissistic. Guess who were the most self-absorbed celebrities? Female reality-TV stars! Not surprising that those celebrities who were famous for being famous were the most narcissistic; their narcissism drove them to become celebrities.

Another fascinating study that was just published explored the changes in music lyrics over the past three decades. The researchers found a significant shift toward lyrics that reflect narcissism ("I" and "me" appear more often "we" and "us") and hostility (change from positive to angry words and emotions). And these findings aren't just due to the increased popularity and influence of hip-hop music (which is known for its aggrandizement of the artists and its venom), but rather are evident across musical genres.

And you don't need to go far to collect your own data on narcissism. Do these names ring a bell: Charlie Sheen, Terrell Owens, and Kanye West?

It's not surprising to see a rise in narcissism in this generation given that young people are being bombarded by these messages 24/7 through every form of media. And here's the truly disturbing part: How can young people these days avoid being infected with this "disease" when, thanks to the "wired" world in which they live, the majority of messages they receive venerate and encourage narcissism.

The self-esteem movement has likely contributed to this increase in self-adoration. Many parents these days do everything they can to make their children feel good about themselves. The result has been a decline in real self-esteem and an increase in self-love and unjustifiable personal "exceptionalism."

Also, technology and social media have done their part to promote narcissism. All of the time spent absorbed in screens has reduced the amount of actual human (i.e., face-to-face) interaction that children have, thus depriving them of the experiences needed to develop essential social skills such as empathy, compassion, and consideration for others.

Certainly, the shift in societal values away from collectivism and toward individualism ("You're on your own"), away from civic responsibility and toward self-gratification, and away from meaningful contributions to society and toward personal success (as defined by wealth, power, and status), have also contributed to the cultural messages of narcissism in which young people are presently immersed.

It's one thing to see that there are an growing number of narcissists in America today. But the real concern is not the individual narcissists among us, but when our society embraces and, OMG!, accepts narcissism as the norm. And that time may have arrived. That's when we have to start asking the next question which is far scarier: What effect will this increasingly normalized culture of narcissism have on our society?

You might argue that narcissism has existed for as long as homo sapiens have populated planet Earth and we've managed to survive. In fact, some researchers have argued that the recent rise in narcissism is due more o this generation's willingness to express what they really believe rather than an actual increase in narcissism. But there seems to be a qualitative, rather just a quantitative, shift in so many aspects of our culture that I just don't buy that explanation.

The answer that came most readily to my mind, and an apocryphal one at that, is a gradual, yet inexorable, tear in the fabric of our society. Think of all the qualities that enable us to form a functioning and vital nation -- respect, compassion, tolerance, selflessness -- and you will see that they don't exist in the narcissistic personality (or culture). Gosh, I just had a really terrifying thought. The indifference, egotism, disrespect, and lack of consideration that are central to narcissism are also reflective of the increasingly polarized and vitriolic tone of our current body politic, recent unethical corporate behavior, the rise in cheating among students in school, and the gamut of bad behavior among professional athletes. As Pogo noted so famously, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Definitely not a rosy picture and definitely not one to encourage an optimistic view of the future. Should we see this trend as just another sign of the impending death of the American empire? The cynic in me (and, for those who follow my writing, know that it fills a big portion of my brain) would offer an emphatic "Yes!"

Yet the optimist in me (small, but stubborn) holds out some hope. I don't mean to demonize and indict this entire generation. In fact, There are a lot of amazing young people out there. I speak at schools around the U.S. and I meet kids (I know I'm getting old when I call them that!) who are motivated, engaged, respectful, and compassionate. Many young people are bucking the trend and are resisting the lure of the "dark side." And they are our best hope of beating back the onslaught of narcissism and keeping the best of humanity alive and well and living in America.

Even as a very individualist-oriented person, I find society tends to embrace conformity over individuality and self-esteem. I think this narcissistic uprising may be due more to culture PUSHING the opposite, rather than a culture that actually advocates a healthy balance between loving yourself and also caring for others.

There is a difference between individualism and narcissism. The former focuses on the self as agent, the latter focuses on the self as object. And I believe it is that push toward conformity that is a force toward pushing people toward narcissism.

Dr Jim Taylor,
I agree with you on many respects but it would be nice if you provided more evidence to support your claim that our culture is moving towards the norms that embraces narcissism...It's just that I do not find it convincing that a sample of 200 celebrities should represent the narcissistic culture and younger population, or that the rise of narcissism is caused by popular culture and self-esteem movement. It's very true that there is a correlation among them, but as both of us know that correlation is not causation.

Good question and, in my post, I was not speaking definitively, but more speculatively to generate discussions. I would argue that the incredible influence of popular culture on children (and adults) is shifting the cultural norms around narcissism (and so many other values and attitudes). And I'm not sure how narcissism could cause popular culture and the self-esteem movement. Something needed to cause the rise in narcissism.

But there needs to be more research to tease out the causes and effects.

Sure, I definitely agree that there should be discussion about this problem by both experts and non-experts, but this topic seems to require research from both psychologists and sociologists, since we're talking about both culture and personality disorder, and that's all I got to say so far on the question concerning solid research (I'm not a psychology or sociology major, so I won't go further).

However I do agree with you that the self-esteem movement and popular culture are problematic. From my point of view I think the self-esteem movement unrealistically centralized the role of self-esteem to mental and social well-being. Furthermore, problem I had with self-esteem philosophy is that it's extremely limited in the sense that it assumes that the primary drive of human psychology is to feel good about ourself. This seems to resemble psychological egoism which is a untenable theory in both the fields of psychology and moral philosophy. That, however, is not the only reason why it's problematic. It's a flawed theory because it fails to take into account that altruism and belongingness are also important motivational drives.

I think that a theory that's has a practical goal towards well-being is admirable, but if it's based on fundamentally flawed understanding of human nature/wellbeing is very dangerous. However I do not think we need to cast out self-esteem out altogether because there are two important motivations that makes us very human: Autonomy and Self-Mastery (which is basically being able to improve on something).

In my personal opinion, I just think that the whole concept of "loving yourself" is very cliche, shallow, and annoying for the reasons above, and I find it to be a pretentious pop-psychology that demonstrates a poor understanding of human nature. It is almost to the extent that it's just as bad as Victorian protestants who demonstrated a poor understanding of human sexuality...anyways I think I was about to get a little preachy here lol.

I don't know how you can rail against narcissism and then quote "Dr. Drew" as an authority. He sets a standard for self-importance and pomposity that few celebrities can match.

And you might want to avoid making over-generalizations about hip-hop when you obviously have no knowledge of the history of its various forms. Battle rhymes are one of many rap styles that date back to its earliest years in the 70s. They were what a skilled MC used to dismiss pretenders who were wasting the crowd's time. Yes the metaphors are often self-praising and/or violent, but living culture is like that sometimes.

I totally agree that society has become too much in love with itself...and to be fair, it is npt just the youth, it has infected the entire spectrum.

the problem is that it has spawned a sense of laziness, a sense of entitlement.. people fell that just because "i am me... great adorable me" i should succeed. the concept of hard work and tireless effort has vaporized.

when such people see you aspire and put in the work to attain your goals, they either try and stand in your way or try to put you down. i say this as an athlete, musician and writer.. i have played sports all my life and competed at the collegiate and high school (and now amateur level). i compose and write and play 5 instrunments. to be good at these things takes a lot of time dedicated to practice. hence i can not afford to fall in love with myself, as that would delude me into believing that i was untouchable and lead me down the path of laziness, at which point i would become worthless... i constantly have to strive to improve and that takes a lot of honest self assessment.

problem is, when someone who is in love with themselves sees you trying to improve yourself, it irks them, and they try and throw road blocks.

in summary, suffice it to say that this narcissism will lead to greater divisions in society.. as those who are honest with themselves continue to ascend and those in love with themselves go nowhere. i would also profer that one of the root causes of this increase in narcissism is reality tv.. wherein 'anyone' can be a star (without the countless hours of study -- in acting). it has brought about the rise of a deluded society.

"Maslow's hierarchy of needs has become disjointed. As a result of the government providing the basic physiological needs with no accountability (which other social institution used to provide)the higher psychological needs develop with an increased narcissistic leaning void of empathy. I liken it to a baby being fed by a machine rather than its mother; as a result bonds are not formed affecting the growth of both mother and child."

I think its a similar position to the communalism vs individualism position.

Since the increase in narcissism predates social networking I think that social networking is more of an accelerant than a cause. I would argue that celebrity narcissism always was. Nothing new there but it too may be an accelerant which in a healthy individual would be inhibited by empathy and have no effect.

I'm not a psychiatrist but I would like to let you in on my personal observations. I have multiple degrees in higher education and work in the medical field and I've noticed in the past decade an increase in the amount of people I interact with, who have definate narcissistic personality traits. I definitely notice more of these tendencies in the millenial generation, but also seeing it in older people in the baby-boomer generation.
I would definitely say that 80-90% of people I meet in my community are narcissists. My personal feelings is that this s a result of not only the "nanny state", but also the result in the breakdown of the typical 2 parent family. Also, with the increase in crimes, children are unable to experience many of the outdoor activities that people enjoyed just 20 years ago. Now, we keep not only our children, but ourselves locked inside, staring at computers and t.v. for fear of being attacked in one form or another.
I remember coming home from school and immediately changing into play gear and heading outside to play with neighbor kids by building forts, riding our bikes for miles, doing outdoor chores on all the farm animals I had the privilege to own, and scavenging for cans along roadside to exchange at the local small roadside market for a grape Nehi and a Moonpie! My parents were mostly fully aware of mine and my siblings' whereabouts, and at least one of them, along with a neighbor friends' parents' were always available in an emergency. We learned important lessons on how to interact with others and had commen sense to avoid threatening situations, such as being abducted by strangers.
It is really sad how todays' generation is unable to enjoy such childhood experiences. Most of the 20 something people I know are only interested in how to "use" the system to avoid work and where they can find the best weed! They have no problem telling others how bad their lives are and really have no interest in poltics, jobs, or even walking the pet dog they might own. One of my neighbors is taking child psychology classes because she wants to help "problem" children when she graduates, but constantly forgets to clean her apartment, do her homework, or even get and keep a job! She has no problem coming to me (even though I am often sick from chemo and anemia) for food and to beg me to walk her small 7# chihuahua along with my 80# pet therapy dog because, I quote, "you are walking your dog anyway and I am still to wasted from the huge bong I did lst night." Not even kidding on that one! Even when she occasionally notices that I am having a bad day, she may ask me how I'm doing, but by the next day, she doesn't even rembember hearing about my well-being. Unfortunately, I have similar stories about the majority of the people I meet. My own family has even fallen into the self-centered way of thinking and can't be disturbed from their "life" to help me if I need a procedure or just to ill to help them if they need it.
It's sad, but I find myself becoming less sympathetic to others because I have been used so much either financially (lossed literally thousands of $ last year), or emotionally. It really worries me about the quick downfall of our society, even though our government is rapidly changing us into a complete socialistic society.

It is a sticky situation for sure.
Consider thinking, writing, and ultimately publishing an opinion so complicated as 'over-confidence' and labeling it a god complex.
I believe self expression is lacking more now than ever due to technology.
That would explain why musicians and consider most 'arts' breeds a more 'natural' self confidence.
Karate, ceramics, acting, dancing, yoga, sports...
All healthy arts, still breed narcissists.
People are people and there are a lot more people, THAN EVER.

I think when people started becoming famous for being famous that was the beginning of the end. Thirty years ago you needed a talent to become famous. I'm sure if a person looked hard enough they could find maybe someone who was famous back then who didn't have a talent, or much talent, but that would have definitely been the exception to the rule. Nowadays, with reality TV, almost half the celebrities in our culture are famous for being famous and have no talent. Also, the definition of talent has definitely changed and declined in my opinion. I also think people become famous much more often by being obnoxious nowadays then in the past. From "The Jersey Shore" to "The Housewives" of all those states, to "The Kardashians" to that Honey Boo Boo show its all about seeing who can be the most disgusting or obnoxious. As mentioned in the article music has declined in general. There are still some indie artists putting out good music but the majority of what gets on the radio and on awards shows is just terrible. Music award shows have become just dance contests or rap contests. No one plays an actual instrument anymore (at least in popular music, like I said indie artists still do but they don't get much media attention). So living in this culture its no wonder young people emulate what they see in the media. I actually feel sorry for a kid who is a teenager nowadays because they really have to go out of their way to find real music, you know with actual musicians playing actual instruments, whereas when I was growing up it was just there in front of you.

I always found it a disgusting aspect of America's culture. Individuals who are the most arrogant are often given more respect or attention than deserved or warranted. From the media to school to business offices I've seen this phenomenon and I'll never abide by it. If you're an arrogant jerk I don't care if you're rich or poor I won't respect you and at some point you need to get your comeuppance somehow some way.

Is it even possible that those who are indoctrinated into a culture of narcissism can recognize it in themselves?

All changes in culture are reflected in difference in child-development strategies. If there are no adults in one generation who see the need to teach the next generation to be more empathetic and kind, then the culture cannot evolve.

If there are no ethically and morally mature adults in one generation, then those principles cannot be taught.

It took our best and brightest in all our trusted institutions to a nurture and produce a systemically violent protofascist culture.

Good luck young generations. If the measure of an adult is spiritual maturity, then there are no adults in the USA.

All teachers can only teach the morality they possess. Morality is imparted in all lessons by all teachers, and in the closed system of society, we are all simultaneously students and teachers of the cultures (im)morality.

It took our best and brightest mental health professionals and institutions to nurture and produce a systemic mental health crisis.